TheSophomoreCritic

By Dr. Yasmine Kalkstein
Check out Orrin's blog: www.sophomorecritic.blogspot.com

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2020 Summer (Make that Thanksgiving Card)

By Dr. Yasmine Kalkstein
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So, I was reminded yesterday I never sent out our annual summer card. Uh...2020 folks?  Can we just use 2020 and Coronavirus for all excuses? So, I decided this year, our 2020 Summer Card is a 2020 Thanksgiving Card.  And it's not a printing.  It's an online blog entry.  Wow, how far we have fallen... But at least I have some good pictures? 2020 started out with an amazing first week.  We had Sivan's bat mitzvah and barely a day goes by that I don't think how lucky we were to have our Israeli bat mitzvah pre-pandemic.   Per tradition, we did hers at 12.  During Chanukkah, we started in Rehovot and the kids saw their friends, and then headed to Emek Yezreal as our next base, while we explored that area bit, and then headed down the Jordan valley to the Dead Sea, where we spent a few days, and then to the desert (Mitzpeh Ramon) and then back to Jerusalem.  Sivan's bat mitzvah included a few celebrations--we did a tunnel ceremony, which meant an...
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Happy 5782

By Dr. Yasmine Kalkstein
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Hello friends and family! Happy 5782 and Fall of 2021! . We hope this email finds you well, and that the start of the school year has gone well for all.  We've had an eventful year, although like many, it had its share of frustrations. As for us, Yasmine enjoyed her first year at West Point--it's been an inspiring place to work where our Army's commitment to a better world and character is so clear.  Yasmine works as the Lead Integrator at the Character Integration Advisory Group and is not ever bored.  She also loved teaching cadets.  Her typical attire is the uniform on the right, not left :) She even helped coach the coxswains on West Point Crew. Adam is also at West Point and just got full professor this year, a promotion that is the highest level in academia. His favorite memory was his severe weather trip, where he took a group of cadets to go find a tornado (I think Yasmine just simplified that one a lot).  Check out usmaweatheraid.blogspot.com if you wa...
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Teaching thoughts: Positive Feedback

By Dr. Yasmine Kalkstein
This is going to sound totally dumb and simple.  But it's a simple revelation I had the other day. I LOVE being taught.  I relish feedback.  Right now I have five teachers--my art teacher, my horseback riding teacher, my Krav Maga instructor, and Talya, my colleague/mentor on the Fulbright.  Adam and I also started parent training, where we are being taught skills that may help us with our strong-willed angels.  I love my interactions with all of these instructors and realize it's because I relish feedback, and in particular positive feedback.  I should swim a few times a week, but without a swim teacher, I'm not interested.   I should do Yoga by myself, but I need someone to teach me.  I LOVE having feedback.  Yes, I have studied behaviorism.  I have heard a million times "positive feedback" (hell, I even teach that it's important) but I'd hereby like to apologize to all those around me in my life.  I do not do this enou...
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